


one of us is going to have to change

by KiwisAndTea



Series: t-shirts [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Awesome Pepper Potts, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hugs, Jealous Tony Stark, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, did i mention there's fluff?, it's all fluff guys i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 20:50:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17251178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiwisAndTea/pseuds/KiwisAndTea
Summary: Turns out, Peter and Pepper have the same shirt. (Tony is Conflicted™).-Part 3 of the t-shirt series, but it is not necessary to read the others first.





	one of us is going to have to change

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year! I hope everyone is safe and that 2019 brings you something good.
> 
> Ohmygoodness, I did not expect If Lost to be that big of a hit, thank you all! After all the wonderful feedback I got, I feel I have to write more, and seeing as this piece is technically the last of the five to be written, another three scenes (to make it a 5 +1) will probably be added sooner or later. In the meantime, here's a fluffy one for the new year.
> 
> This is Part 3, and while you do not have to read the first two to understand this, there's a pretty obvious hat-tip towards If Lost Please Return to Iron Man (Part 2) in here.

Peter isn't sure what to expect when he arrives at the Compound bright and early Saturday morning, but being greeted by a very casually dressed Pepper Potts as soon as he steps out of the elevator is not it. He's supposed to grab a snack and meet Mr. Stark in the lab, but the CEO throws him for a loop. Or maybe it's just the yoga pants. He has met Pepper several times before, they're even kind of close, but he's pretty sure he's never seen her dressed so… comfortably.

"Good morning, Peter," she calls from the kitchen without turning around, slipping a container of cream cheese back into the fridge before grabbing her plate and coffee and coming to greet him properly. When she comes to a stop in front of him, it's with an unreadable expression that draws Peter's attention away from shock and towards uncertainty. "Well, one of us is going to have to change."

Immediately, his gaze drops to his t-shirt and jeans, and then back to her, and himself one more time before his head snaps back up and his jaw drops. They're wearing the same shirt. He, Peter Parker, and CEO of Stark Industries Pepper Potts are wearing the same exact shirt, the one with the atoms and the stupid "I lost an electron" joke. Feminist icon Pepper Potts is wearing a shirt with a science pun on it. A shirt Peter also owns.

His brain connects those two dots and those two dots only until she smiles at him and continues her journey to the couch.

"Well, now I feel a whole lot better about this shirt."

Suddenly, he's pulled to action. "Uh, why?" Peter asks, following her over to plop onto the cushions and try not to freak out. Ned is _not_ going to believe this. MJ definitely won't believe this. (Who's a loser now, huh?).

"Because if you're wearing it, it isn't as bad as I originally thought," she explains as if it is that simple, taking a bite of her bagel and propping her bare feet on the table in the most startlingly normal thing he has ever seen her do - and he's been to their _movie nights_ , for goodness sake.

"Um, Ms. Potts-"

"Pepper."

"-I don’t know if you know this, but I haven't got the best fashion sense. My shirts are _not_ considered cool by anyone except me and Ned." At least as long as the world doesn't know about the cheesy shirt in her wardrobe, that is.

Pepper shrugs. "I think you and Ned are cool, and I like your style." His face must give away his conflicting joy and confusion because she adds, "You have good taste. And I honestly didn't know what to think when Tony gave this to me."

Peter can only blink at her for a few seconds. "Wait, Mr. Stark gave you that shirt?" Mr. Stark, who rolled his eyes at it the second he saw it on the teen? That Mr. Stark? How rude. And hypocritical.

"Yes. And now I love it." Pepper gives him a little bit of a evil grin while she eats her breakfast. "You've got your matching shirt with him, and now I've got mine, and it's one he wouldn't be caught dead wearing. You know, from the man who regularly wears cat t-shirts."

It's unexpected, but settles over him like a warm blanket. She wants to match him. She wants to share something with him, the kind of thing he shares with the man who cares about him in his own overbearing and paranoid way. All he can give in response is a soft "oh," but she doesn't seem to mind his sudden bout of quietness in the least, nor does she comment on how unusual that is for him. For a while, they simply sit in each other's company, but then she asks after school and he is all too happy to tell her how well Spanish class is going, and that he'd gotten an A on his latest history essay, and that their Academic Decathlon team has a competition in a couple of weeks.

She nods and smiles and tells him she's proud of him and is generous enough not to mention the way his cheeks flush at the sentiment, because she's Pepper Potts and she's amazing. "You hungry?" she asks, gathering her now empty dishes and gesturing for him to follow her into the kitchen, _because she's amazing_ , "come on."

In all the excitement, Peter had completely forgotten about eating. He should probably do that, especially before Mr. Stark finds out and comes to practically spoon-feed him (an unfortunate consequence of skipping/forgetting too many meals and passing out right in front of him once; he's on a very detailed and stringent schedule now, one his mentor will take desperate measures to keep him on, including threating to tie him down and hand-feed him).

Pepper offers to make him something, but he just shakes his head and steals an orange from the bowl on the counter. "That's okay. I had a big breakfast before coming over," Peter explains, lifting the fruit to her, "this will do me. Thanks though."

"It's not a problem, sweetie." Her smile disappears behind her refilled coffee cup.

He's just beginning to peel his orange when Tony Stark's unmistakable voice carries out from the hallway. "Pete?"

"Kitchen!"

A second later the man himself appears. "Happy said he dropped you off like fifteen minutes ago," he says to Peter, somewhere between accusatory and questioning. However, despite clearly addressing the teen, he makes straight for his fiancée. "Good morning honey."

"Good morning," she replies, rising up on her toes to give him a kiss.

Peter makes sure leave an expression of exaggerated disgust on his face for when they _finally_ break for air and remember that he's like twelve inches away from them. "Ew."

Mr. Stark snorts. "You think that's gross? I'll show you-"

Pepper smacks his chest. "Leave the poor boy alone."

Peter snickers at Mr. Stark's affronted expression, peeling a large piece of skin off his orange.

"Hey! Why are you taking the kid's side?"

"Because," she states, pulling the boy into her side with a smug smile, "we're shirt buddies."

And if that isn't simultaneously the lamest and coolest thing he has ever heard Ms. Potts say, he doesn't know what is.

Taking a step back, Mr. Stark glances between the two of them with a frown that deepens the longer he looks. "Well that's… that's… new."

"He's jealous," Pepper stage-whispers to him.

"I am not! You both look ridiculous," the billionaire announces, and then points at Peter who has just stuffed an orange slice in his mouth and given the man a fruity smile, "and you're extra ridiculous. I would never wear a shirt that tacky. Why would I be jealous?"

Pepper hums thoughtfully and Peter glances sideways at her, awaiting a jab at her fiancée's plethora of tacky t-shirts, but she settles on something wildly different. "Because our matching shirts are cooler than yours?"

Mr. Stark scoffs. "As if anything is cooler than Iron Man."

"Because I'm obviously Peter's favorite?"

"Pep, I love you, but we all know I'm Peter's favorite."

"Tony, I love you, but you're a certified narcissist. Peter has told me several times that I'm the best."

Peter's eyes ping-pong back and forth between then until his mentor grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him into his side, arm firm over his shoulders. He almost chokes on another slice of orange in surprise. "Pete. Buddy. Tell her I'm the best."

She shakes her head at him, takes Peter's wrist, and drags him back to her. "Peter, you don't have to say anything. Tony's just jealous he can't have you all to himself anymore," Pepper tells him, brushing a hand through his hair with a kind smile.

If he's being honest with himself, he's glad, because he really doesn't know what to say. May and Ben used to do this kind of thing when he was a kid, playing tug-of-war with him because they wanted his last kiss before he went off to school, and he's torn between laughing and crying at the pair of them fighting over his love and attention like this. It's funny, but it's also… not. It's real. It means something. He's not sure what, exactly, but he thinks he likes it.

Pepper pulls him into a hug that he returns without thinking, wrapping his arms tight around her waist.

"I'm not jealous," Mr. Stark repeats. "And you _are_ my fiancée. I think I'd be willing to share him with you."

"Oh really? How generous of you, Mr. Stark."

"Anything for you, Ms. Potts."

Peter scrunches up his nose at their sort of sultry tone of voice, but doesn't get the chance to make his escape before he's squished between the two of them. Which is not an ideal place to be, especially when he hears them start kissing over his head.

"I pray for the sweet release of death," he deadpans, falling limp between them, resigned to his fate.

That gets them to laugh and end half his suffering, but apparently encourages Mr. Stark to try to make a Peter pancake out of them. "Aw, look, Pep, we're embarrassing him."

"Sorry sweetie."

He sighs into her shoulder. "You're not sorry."

"No, not really," she confirms.

"Well, as much as I love this Peter sandwich," Mr. Stark says, and Peter nearly falls when he suddenly disappears from the hug, "Pep's used up her twelve percent, and we've got work to do." He tries leading the boy away with a steady hand at the back of his neck, but Peter stops them after a couple of steps.

"Wait! Can I take a picture?" he asks Ms. Potts, bouncing a bit on his toes. He wants photographic evidence for Ned and MJ. When she agrees, he pulls out his phone and slides in close, holding it at an angle that will get both their faces and their shirts, and thanks her profusely before returning to his mentor. "This is like the single most exciting thing to ever happen to me."

"I cannot believe you just said that."

**Author's Note:**

> I have people coming over tomorrow, but if I have time and remember, I'll post the next one - which is actually the first one I wrote and my personal favorite - to start off the new year right.
> 
> Thank you all again for your support, reading all of your comments just brightens my day. Please be safe this New Years Eve.


End file.
